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Saturday, July 12, 2014

Bolt Out of the Blue

I was asked to help with a stake merit badge clinic, which I'm taking a break from right now. I'm counseling CitWorld, and other citizenship badges (it's a white-bordered badge clinic). Rather than "teach" a "class" I went down the path of showing the boys how to find information to finish any badge they begin. We talked through the reqs, and showed them how Meritbadge.org is such a great resource, with all the right links to find all the information for any badge. We also talked a little about some of the reqs, but mostly it was about the Scout Oath and Law, and how merit badges tie into that, and how it all dovetails with Article of Faith 13.

Now for the out-of the-blue part: I ran into the S2 (Stake second counselor) there, who said he and the SP just returned from, of all places, the Priesthood Leadership Conference at Philmont. He was pretty excited about what he and the SP had learned, and said they had some big plans. I say out of the blue, because this is a 180 from a discussion I'd had with them just a few years ago. Holy wish fulfillment, Batman!

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Eric the Half-bee

The Volun-Told Oath

On my honor, I will do my bestTo do my “Duty to God” book and my Spalding,And to obey, honor and sustain some laws;To help other people when Br. Franklin organizes a Service Project™;To keep my avatar virtually strong, stay awake and morally clean too.

If this is a reflection of a Troop you know,blame the grown-ups, not the boys.

What's all this, then?

When I was on Active Duty in the Air Force, we'd refer to someone's being assigned a job they didn't want as having been volun-told. Scouters in the LDS Church are typically not volunteers, but are "called to serve" in Scouting positions. And so, we're an army of volun-tolds doing the best we can in a job we probably never would have asked for.

In late 2010, I was asked to serve as an Assistant Scoutmaster in my ward. This is my 4th or 5th Church Scouting assignment, but it's the first time I've really jumped in with both feet [edit - in late 2013, I was released from this responsibility, but I'm still a MBC]. Since then, I've learned a ton about what Scouting is, but more especially what it isn't, and fielded lots of questions from parents and others. This blog is intended to collect those ideas into a useful format, address those "traditions which are not correct", and to be a resource to other parents and Scouters.

This blog is not affiliated with either the LDS Church or the BSA. It is simply one dude's attempt to clear up confusion. The opinions stated here are mine, with citations to actual policies as required. I figure that if I'm going to say something is definitive, I at least owe you the source for that definition.